12:30 PM: Security basically forces us into one dressing room and is extremely rude and pushy anytime anyone needs to walk out, etc. So, I hang out in the dressing room, fielding inquiries from 100 different people every couple of minutes and coordinating Vanessa on the cues for the DVD, that she’d be controlling (Nicely done, babe!).

1:00 AM: Sleep deprivation and stress are beginning to get the best of me. My limbs start getting numb.

1:10 AM: I hear Pumpkinhead doing his new shit from Orange Moon Over Brooklyn & then I hear ArchRival on stage doing “Swordfish”. The crowd sounds like they’re into it. So far, so good.

THE MEGASHOW BEGINS

1:30 AM: I’m stuck backstage….tHe QN5 set starts… a full half-hour after we’d originally planned it to. The lights go dark and I hear the titles come up and people start makin noise. They laughed at all the jokes (although, I think they missed the Rakim joke after the Mike Jones video). I feel a sudden rush of relief, that the DVD is working and the crowd is excited about the show. I start to calm down a little.

MERCH-MESS-MAYHEM
It’s at this point backstage, that I’m told that BB Kings wants 30% of all our merch sales. Pack confirms it for me. I launch into a fucking fit of rage, because I put up alot of my own money to manufacture all this new shirt, and we all lugged TONS of merchandise to the show, and NEVER ONCE was it specified or mentioned in any way shape or form by the club that they would be taking 30% of our merchandise earnings. Also,

I flat out refused, because that’s really the only way we make money off these things, and I’ll be damned if this club is going to rob us. It was then I decided that we’d take it outside.

...AND BACK TO THE SHOW1:42 AM:Session does his first “solo” performance with Debut backing him up. Normally, we’re doing a QN5 Allstars show, so either Pack, Mecc or Myself are up there with him…but this time around, it was really for dolo. I’m stuck backstage listening. He lit it up with “Spicasso” off the album, his first performance of “The Only Way” and then into “Watch Yo Back”...and when the beat dropped for “Don’t Do It”, I heard this GIGANTIC ROAR from the crowd. I was like… “Oh shit, this is gonna be a hot ass show”. (By the way, I produced every track he did that night)—————————————————-

1:53 AM:Mecca hits the stage with his 2 singers and GC on the sax. Mind you, DJ Sicari showed up with CL/Kynfolk that day, and never had a chance to practice with us and wasn’t familiar with our set at all. So, he was just helping us out on the strength [Props to Him].

Mecca gets into it..things are rolling smoothly, then he goes into his “throwback set”. THIS was when Buckshot was supposed to come out during “How Many MCs”....well, he was backstage somewhere and missed the cue. Someone found him and he came on stage after the fact.

Mecca told DJ Sicari to bring it back for Buck, but the entire throwback portion was burned as ONE track on the CD (for a reason), “How Many MCs” was in the middle of the track…so when the shit restarted, it was from “Flava Of The Month” (the 1st track). So, then Buck starts rhyming… and let’s just say we were just as surprised to see him bring Steele on stage…completely unplanned…Acapellas…and verses are exchanged. I’m listening backstage looking at my watch. We’d planned our set out to-the-minute for months. Mecc’s set was supposed to be 11 Minutes long, but obviously, it ran longer than it was supposed to due to a few things - this effect would eventually domino for the rest of the night with dire consequences for the set.

I felt bad for Mecc, cause he was basically winging it on stage as the entire set shifted in front of him, and he did his best to keep the crowd engaged, even though his initial plans for the show with the Live Band were sqaushed last minute. He’s a trooper indeed.—————————————————-

2:10 AM:PackFM‘s titles hit the screen and the crowd erupted with noise. A) It felt good to see Pack get the love he deserves and B) I was happy the DVD was still working.

Now, Pack had been planning the crates for months. When he told us about it…we weren’t entirely sure how it was gonna work, but he insisted it would. He had Akolades guarding the crates throughout the night so that they wouldn’t be moved or taken before he’d need them.

He launched into an airtight set, that he’s been perfecting over the past year at various spots around the country, and ran through “Spit In The Wind,”“Forever Shine,”“Free-Esta,” and then into a brutally rugged rendition of “Stomp”, complete with CANING action.

Throughout the whole thing I was backstage with the cordless mic chiming in with adlibs peeking through the curtains at this monstrosity of chaos Pack had created around himself, and thinking… “This dude is KILLING shit right now”

Props to Pack. Beautifully done.————————————————

2:35 AM:Tonedeff time. Now, I’ve been looking forward to this show for a year. And since there was no Archetype release party, to me, this would be the first time I’d be able to see if heads really felt the album in person.

I heard the sounds of my video intro playing, and the people started making noise. I took a deep breath and made my way to the stage. The second I hit that stage…I felt this tremendous rush of energy as the screams from that entire place lit up like it was the fourth of july. I was FLOORED. I couldn’t contain my smile.

We launched into a medley of “Heads Up” & “Clear Em Out” which to my surprise, were memorized and recited back to me verbatim. Mecc & I threw down in a salsa-off, which he won (I need to step my Salsa game up, son) and went into “Spanish Song”. That was fun.

Then “Pervert” came on. People started buggin the fuck out, singing the chant and jumping. It was surreal. Much to my pleasant surprise, there was a couple literally FUCKING on the side of the stage during this song. That’s some real rock star shit, y’all. Jeeeuh.

I closed out with “Porcelain,”“Champion,”“Case Closed,” and brought out the big guns with “Issawn”. ‘Tearing this bitch down’ has never been so fun. Although, I kind of regret not crowd surfing (I’m still a little timid about that since Scribble ‘03).

i never thought it’d be possible to be too classy, but Qn5 surely is. If I was as disrespected as you guys were that night, I’d prolly be comatose with bullet wounds right now for all the shit talking I’d do on everyone and their mothers. But you guys handle things well.. much respect.